tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21606460322647459932015-03-03T09:57:24.084-08:00Fouldsy's Kamloops Blog: Inside the NewspaperA blog by myself, an editor of Kamloops This Week, a twice-weekly newspaper in Kamloops, B.C., Canada, a city of about 90,000 in south central British Columbia.
This blog is intended to be a forum where I can explain various aspects of our newspaper, while practising my at-times verbose ramblings on the passion to which I am addicted — newspapers.
Our website is at www.kamloopsthisweek.com.
Columns I have written can be viewed at my second blog: chrisfoulds2.blogspot.com.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-78010405521232201052013-07-02T09:39:00.000-07:002013-07-02T09:39:46.817-07:00Aaron Kushner remains my hero<br />Aaron Kushner and his Freedom Communications believe in newspapers — so much so that their Orange County Register is growing while other papers shrink.<br />Freedom is now starting a brand new daily paper in Long Beach.<br />Imagine that — STARTING a newspaper.<br />Here's an excerpt from the story. Check out the numbers mentioned:<br /><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">The Register’s entrance to the city, according to Lamont, is one of several bold moves made by Freedom Communications since the new owners took over about a year ago. At a time when many newspaper companies continue to cut back, Freedom has been expanding its presence. The company, owned by CEO Aaron Kushner and President Eric Spitz, has added about 300 employees, grown the newsroom staff by 70 percent, reopened a Washington, D.C., office earlier this year, and increased the physical size of the Register by 50 percent,</div><div><br /></div><br />The story can be read here:<br /><a href="http://lbbusinessjournal.com/read-it-now/1623-oc-register-owners-to-launch-daily-newspaper-in-long-beach-former-press-telegram-publisher-ian-lamont-hired-to-lead-effort.html">http://lbbusinessjournal.com/read-it-now/1623-oc-register-owners-to-launch-daily-newspaper-in-long-beach-former-press-telegram-publisher-ian-lamont-hired-to-lead-effort.html</a><br /><br /><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-35391494914751555492013-06-27T15:36:00.000-07:002013-06-27T15:36:08.934-07:00THIS is why newspapers cannot be permitted to perish:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K36jyGGuoxA/Ucy-PEfJyzI/AAAAAAAABNE/hZCHumPuHqQ/s533/ALBERT.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K36jyGGuoxA/Ucy-PEfJyzI/AAAAAAAABNE/hZCHumPuHqQ/s320/ALBERT.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-91137067325773162912013-06-26T11:23:00.000-07:002013-06-26T11:23:29.462-07:00Also known as a "salesperson"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zMeLcOJJmU8/Ucsxcp9lEcI/AAAAAAAABMw/jPup8sGwWdk/s1600/GOBBBELDEYGOOk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zMeLcOJJmU8/Ucsxcp9lEcI/AAAAAAAABMw/jPup8sGwWdk/s320/GOBBBELDEYGOOk.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Yep.<br />We multi-platform, multi-tasking cross-referencing content providers now have company in the lexicon land of inventing preposterous titles with too many words to describe what in the old days could be explained with a single word.<br />Remember newspaper salespeople?<br />They have now become "integrated media consultants."<br />Seriously.<br />Reminds me of my first job as a specialized cleansing engineer working the dishwasher at Denny's . . .<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-20373757047417017812013-05-30T15:37:00.002-07:002013-06-05T10:05:54.156-07:00I work at a newspaper <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FvT2apvZlQw/UafUnJrh74I/AAAAAAAABLY/QyvwJ572Krk/s1600/45676_142825759089570_100000864404219_188822_1453714_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FvT2apvZlQw/UafUnJrh74I/AAAAAAAABLY/QyvwJ572Krk/s400/45676_142825759089570_100000864404219_188822_1453714_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; min-height: 23px;">We are a society of no attention spans.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">We are a society in which people actually claim to not read books — as though it is a badge of honour — and brag about their knowledge of Jersey Shore.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">The fact I am discussing this on my blog, on the Internet, is highly ironic, but necessary in this day and age.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">What the <a href="https://nppa.org/news/chicago-sun-times-wipes-out-photo-staff">Chicago Sun-Times is doing by laying off all photographers at its paper and at its community papers</a> is what every bleeding publisher is doing, not caring to realize that this vaunted focus on "digital" and calling themselves "multi-platform content providers" is just an exercise in futility.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Newspapers are newspapers and, when run properly, are beautiful things that, yes, can even make a dime or two without sacrificing everything, including integrity.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">To think a reporter with an iPhone can duplicate what a real news shooter does is a joke.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">I don't care what company we are talking about — NY Times, Black Press, Postmedia, Sun-Times, Trib Co. — it matters not.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">You can implore "page views" and "hits" and "links" and "Facebook friends" and "tweets" and all the rest of the annoying jargon that is the death of journalism.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">NONE of it will ever make enough money to sustain journalism.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Never. Never. Never.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Unless we are the Wall Street Journal.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">And we are not.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">It's all a bloody dream and every time I read something like what the Sun-Times is doing, or what Postmedia is doing, or what any number of flailing companies are doing, I literally laugh out loud when they always add, "and these cuts will position us in a beneficial way as we transition to a more digital product&nbsp; . . ."</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">It's all bullshit.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">When reporters and editors and photographers are asked constantly about "page views" and "hits" and "unique visitors" and "home-page stats" and "Google search capability" and rarely about leads and wraps and story structure and depth of field, you know it's all gone downhill.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Instead of laying off loads of staff and pinning one's hopes on a pie-in-the-sky dream that the Internet will replace the riches that once spilled off printing presses, perhaps we should look to people like Aaron Kushner, a man who loves NEWSPAPERS and is proud to expand the printed product and decrease the blogs and online crap that clutters the real reason we are here.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Kushner bought the Orange County Register and has, so far, done nothing but expand its page count monumentally and hire editorial staff by the dozens.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">And, at last count, circulation and ad revenue are up.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">He points out the catch .22 that has led to such abysmal decisions such as that taken in Chicago:</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Notwithstanding the Internet's effect, papers have killed themselves by atrophying.&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">They cut publication dates and page counts and staff and put out a weaker product.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Advertisers see the weak product and decline to buy in.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Paper says advertisers won't buy in, so they feel they have to cut and put out an inferior product.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Advertisers say they don't want to buy into a mediocre product.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">Classic catch .22.&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">I know the web is important to my paper and vice-versa and I get that we need to keep a presence and update the site and keep our Facebook page current.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">I get all that. I am not THAT much of a dinosaur.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">But, I work for a newspaper.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">That's it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">A bloody newspaper.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;">And, if anyone ever hears me say I work for a multi-platform, multimedia content provider, please just shoot me and get it over with.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; min-height: 23px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C5p80pR3-K8/Ua9fziobyzI/AAAAAAAABL0/bCIhZ-SXw78/s1600/proxy.storify.com.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C5p80pR3-K8/Ua9fziobyzI/AAAAAAAABL0/bCIhZ-SXw78/s320/proxy.storify.com.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-62619556338048672162012-11-20T10:09:00.000-08:002012-11-20T10:09:08.094-08:00Let's see them do THIS with an e-reader!<a href="http://jimromenesko.com/2012/10/23/san-francisco-chronicle-extra-is-a-clubhouse-hit/">Reason No. 35 why newspapers are better than iPads: They are immune to champagne!</a>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-7052701339359328682012-11-20T09:59:00.004-08:002012-11-20T09:59:37.621-08:00Students fight for their newspaper<br />Newspapers are dying!<br />No, they are rebounding!<br />The Internet is killing them!<br />No, the Internet is simply a complementary vehicle.<br />Good news and bad news abound (usually more of the latter), but a little story like this&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/ci_22021254/david-litte-pleasant-valley-students-wont-let-their">http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/ci_22021254/david-litte-pleasant-valley-students-wont-let-their</a>&nbsp;can sort of make one hopeful.<br />Sort of . . .Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-34768147725641250772012-07-10T09:32:00.000-07:002012-07-10T09:32:12.638-07:00Some encouraging news . . .<img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LnAP2QAOy4/T_xYbrpGJ6I/AAAAAAAABGU/GwqsjcDipa0/s320/big-news.jpg" width="262" />For what it's worth, here is an article noting a circulation-revenue increase at the New York Times:<br /><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/zacks/2012/07/06/the-new-york-times-companys-rise-in-circulation-revenue/">http://www.forbes.com/sites/zacks/2012/07/06/the-new-york-times-companys-rise-in-circulation-revenue/</a><br /><br />Meanwhile, perhaps we ink-stained wretches should decamp for Germany:<br /><a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/us-media-survey-idINBRE8680GD20120709?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=lifestyleMolt&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINlifestyle+%28News+%2F+IN+%2F+Lifestyle%29">http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/us-media-survey-idINBRE8680GD20120709?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=lifestyleMolt&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINlifestyle+%28News+%2F+IN+%2F+Lifestyle%29</a>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-41918545235491722512012-06-12T10:49:00.001-07:002012-06-12T10:49:40.889-07:00R.I.P. newspapers?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t3i9yxq2u74/T9eBIgXMfeI/AAAAAAAABDc/1hz6hi2g1bg/s1600/newspapersrip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t3i9yxq2u74/T9eBIgXMfeI/AAAAAAAABDc/1hz6hi2g1bg/s320/newspapersrip.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Not a day goes by in which more depressing news about the newspaper business is released.<br />It seems that, for every hopeful story I read in Editor &amp; Publisher or at <a href="http://poynter.org/">poynter.org</a>, there are five more ready to beat the glimmer of optimism from my ink-stained soul.<br />I will post two links here, one from Reuters columnist Jack Shafer on the less-than-positive outlook on newspapers. It is, of course, a look at the American scene and, admittedly, the U.S. side of the newspaper business has fared far worse (so far) than have papers on our side of the border.<br />Then again, Postmedia's constant cuts cannot be a good sign.<br />Just this week, rumour has it the Vancouver Sun and Province either closed or seriously downsized its library.<br />Here is Shafer's column:<br /><br /><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/tag/newhouse-newspapers/">http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/tag/newhouse-newspapers/</a></div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">And, if you click on the following link, scroll down to page 13 to read about a coming extinction:</div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/News%20and%20Events/News/%7E/media/PDFs/CDF_DigitalReport.ashx">http://annenberg.usc.edu/News%20and%20Events/News/%7E/media/PDFs/CDF_DigitalReport.ashx</a>.</div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">On the mildly bright side, these missives — and most others I have read — point to larger daily papers as being in rough shape, while smaller papers, such as Kamloops This Week and, perhaps, Kamloops Daily News, expected to survive based on their local mandate.</div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Time will tell . . .&nbsp;</div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">In the meantime, more happy thoughts can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/">http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/</a>.</div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 20.0px Futura; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-37411576810908168692011-08-09T21:36:00.000-07:002011-08-09T21:37:23.509-07:00These are the days of our newspaper livesThe newspaper world is like the weather, changing as it does on a constant basis, perhaps never more so than in the time period between the global economic meltdown of late 2008 and today.
<br />Many daily paid circulation newspapers were closed, others cut back on publishing days and virtually all that remained put a greater focus on their online products.
<br />Change continues and Kamloops This Week is again part of a shift.
<br />In July, we switched to a Tuesday/Thursday publication schedule.
<br />Since Kamloops This Week was born in 1988, Wednesdays and Fridays have been staple publication dates, and even more so when our Sunday edition was discontinued amid the great newspaper revolution of 2008/209.
<br />The funny thing is our page counts and affiliated publications have kept pace to that which we produced when we were a thrice-weekly entity.
<br />This latest tweak is just that — a tweak, as far as casual readers are concerned.
<br />Until last month, we landed on your doorstep on Wednesdays and Fridays.
<br />Now, KTW will arrive on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
<br />There are many diverse reasons for the change, but it comes down to recognizing the evolution of the newspaper business, of the habits of readers, of press deadlines available, of maximizing impact for advertisers, of using the entire week in the most effective way possible.
<br />The Internet is a great and wonderful thing, but the reality remains that newspapers continue to dominate the advertising market.
<br />They do because, despite the millions and millions of web sites devoted to this and that and the other thing, the Internet has yet to find a way to do what newspapers do and have done for centuries — capture the attention of a diverse mass audience without needing that audience to find them.
<br />Newspapers are ubiquitous in our society and continue to be so.
<br />You might not subscribe to the Kamloops Daily News, and you might have rushed out the door today without picking up KTW, but there is a good chance you are aware of the stories in both papers because you saw the papers at work, you walked into a store and spied the headlines or a friend commented on a story they read.
<br />The web is a fantastic, fascinating place that has countless sites to explore, but it has yet to do what newspapers in their respective cities do day in and day out, which is to focus on what is happening locally and expose the masses to that news in a manner that does not require readers to power up, log in, enter a specific URL and start scrolling.
<br />Thankfully, the ink still stains.
<br />
<br />Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-63526979803141739002011-07-26T22:48:00.000-07:002011-07-26T22:57:59.518-07:00A reporter has no real set hoursIt really is true.<br />When you are a journalist, you are always on duty.<br />Even after a long day at work, when you are relaxing at home — hear that siren in the near distance? Chances are, if you are a reporter, you simply need to know what it is connected to.<br />Case in point: The night of Tuesday, July 26, here in Kamloops.<br />I had arrived home at 6 p.m. following a very long and busy day at work. I made dinner for my two kids and then grabbed by 10-year-old boy and drove to Riverside Park to play some tennis and exercise away some of the stress of the day.<br />As we left Aberdeen, the wind was building, the clouds were thickening and a storm was obviously on the way.<br />This has happened before and we have managed to make it all the way downtown while a storm arrives, drops some rain, flashes some lightning, rumbled some thunder and leaves in time for us to play some tennis.<br />On this night, there would be no tennis.<br />We got halfway to Riverside by the time the rain was falling so hard, it was difficult to see the road.<br />We stopped at Real Canadian Superstore and parked the vehicle to await the passing of this intense storm.<br />But, the rain kept falling hard, the lightning was incessant the thunder shook our vehicle.<br />It was right about then I received a call from KTW reporter Jeremy Deutsch. He heard a rockslide had occurred on the Overlanders Bridge and was heading there. I was parked at the top of Summit Drive, not far from the bridge, so I decided to drive there to check it out, my 10-year-old son riding shotgun.<br />By the time I arrived at the scene, Mounties were parked on the south end of the bridge, helping traffic navigate its way through a mess of rock that had been spit onto the bridge via a flash flood that emptied a normally dry creekbed above the bridge of much of its geological history.<br />At that time, Jeremy called back to say he was heading elsewhere, to a scene in which a vehicle was trapped underwater in the underpass at Battle Street and 10th Avenue.<br />(He managed to secure video there, while fellow KTW reporter Tim Petruk grabbed a camera and made his way from his home to the scene.)<br />So, I jumped out of my vehicle at the bridge and managed to shoot some rudimentary video and photos with my Blackberry.<br />It was raw video and photography, but it did the job for our website. <br />Marvelling yet again at present-day technology, I was able to upload the video while standing next to the rockslide, raindrops smearing my Blackberry's screen.<br />If you watch the video, you can hear my son ask a question and me answer.<br />Such is the reality of mobile journalism, where you are a reporter 24/7 and, sometimes, you file stuff as raw and real as it gets.<br /><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOG_video_class" id="BLOG_video-d1adeae82f43d268" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/get_player"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="flashvars" value="flvurl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Dd1adeae82f43d268%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dblogger%26app%3Dblogger%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%3Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1427555544%26sparams%3Dip,ipbits,expire,id,itag,source%26signature%3DA72A0361A006EFF5544FCC2C087DEC5883A352FF.937F59CB5DD9A797D00FEFF438A949DC180B2605%26key%3Dck2&amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Dd1adeae82f43d268%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DOGJ3cuo4Xhe0u8-ZrcvVkTeIqMw&amp;autoplay=0&amp;ps=blogger"><embed src="//www.youtube.com/get_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="320" height="266" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="flvurl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Dd1adeae82f43d268%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dblogger%26app%3Dblogger%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%3Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1427555544%26sparams%3Dip,ipbits,expire,id,itag,source%26signature%3DA72A0361A006EFF5544FCC2C087DEC5883A352FF.937F59CB5DD9A797D00FEFF438A949DC180B2605%26key%3Dck2&iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Dd1adeae82f43d268%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DOGJ3cuo4Xhe0u8-ZrcvVkTeIqMw&autoplay=0&ps=blogger" allowFullScreen="true" /></object>Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-71525917718279448352011-05-09T23:02:00.000-07:002011-05-09T23:05:28.181-07:00It's a newspaper, not a portrait studioOn Friday, April 29, we published our last print edition before the Monday, May 2, federal election.<br />The first six pages were dedicated to campaign coverage, including a front-page photo from the last and largest all-candidates debate that showed Conservative candidate Cathy McLeod and NDP candidate Michael Crawford, the only two candidates with a chance of being elected in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo.<br />The debate was largely uneventful, with the only real spark coming when McLeod or Crawford spoke and one or the other responded verbally or via a head shake, a wry smile or a look of incredulity.<br />We had dozens and dozens of photos from which to choose, most being static, boring shots of all five candidates sitting at a long table.<br />Our photographer, Dave Eagles, did get some close-up photos of various candidates and I decided to run a horizontal picture of the candidates and larger, square photos of the frontrunners: McLeod throwing Crawford an “are you kidding me?” look and Crawford with a clenched jaw as he decried Conservative policies.<br />These two pics summed up, in my opinion, the debate and the campaign.<br />It has been a Conservative-NDP race for the past seven years in Kamloops and it became a Conservative-NDP race nationally as election day neared.<br />On Monday, May 2, I walked into the office and checked my voicemail.<br />A gentleman called to register an official complaint with respect to the photo of McLeod we ran on the front page. It did not look like her, he said, and requested we run another photo.<br />What this reader and others need to understand is a newspaper is not a portrait studio.<br />Our photographers are not tasked with going to news events to get pictures that show people in the best light.<br />Our photographers are tasked with getting the best photos in connection to the event.<br />Eagles’ shot of McLeod tossing Crawford that look is a great pic.<br />It is great because it is not staged. It is great because it is real. It is great because, in one frame, it sums up much of the debate: McLeod spent a lot of time making faces of doubt as Crawford spoke of NDP policies or attacked Conservative ones.<br />Appearance is in the eye of the beholder.<br />If the reader who called believes the photo of McLeod was unflattering, that is one subjective view.<br />I see a photo of a passionate politician expressing many emotions via her countenance — nothing more.<br />It’s odd, really.<br />I received a call a few years ago from another McLeod supporter, arguing a photo we ran of her speaking was a “bad photo.”<br />Yet, it was a real photo, a snapshot in time that showed the MP engaging an audience — something far more interesting than a politician flashing the pearly whites in a pixelized version of sanitized reality.<br />Seems to me those who disagree with publication of these photos are more preoccupied with the superficial and should instead focus on the issues from which these photos are created.<br />One can scroll through the photo rolls of myriad newspapers and find much to criticize: The 1972 photo showing Conservative leader Robert Stanfield dropping a football; the 1984 photo showing Liberal leader John Turner wearing shadow devil’s horns; the 2005 photo of Conservative leader Stephen Harper wearing a leather vest and cowboy hat; the 1997 photo of Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe wearing a hairnet.<br />These are photos of reality, as was the photo in KTW of McLeod at the debate, and reality resonates.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-66803981578965878572011-04-16T22:52:00.000-07:002011-04-16T23:05:40.005-07:00Political posturing on the editorial page?I will receive phone calls now and then from readers complaining about the editorial cartoon on our editorial page (A8). <br />Usually, the reader takes offence at what they see as poor taste or a cheap shot embedded in the work of Ingrid Rice, the syndicated cartoonist from North Vancouver whose work we use.<br />When those calls arrive, I consider the complaints to be proof positive that Rice is doing her job and doing it well, which is why I use her. I feel she is the sharpest and wittiest editorial cartoonist in the business today.<br />If reporters are here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, then cartoonists are tasked with the same job, only visually.<br />However, I received a call this past week from a reader who was not taken aback by the subject matter of one cartoon; he objected to any of our cartoons being political in nature.<br />He was referring to last week's cartoon that criticized Stephen Harper, but he stated he felt editorial cartoons should not be political in any way, shape or manner.<br />I was confused because, as far back as I can recall, editorial cartoons have always been political in nature. Without politics, I countered to the reader, there likely would not be editorial cartoons in newspapers.<br />We went back and forth and agreed to disagree, but I do believe he was surprised when I mentioned a list of cartoonists and newspapers going back a century or more, all of which were and remain tied to politics as the fodder.<br />To be clear, Rice - like all other cartoonists - is an equal-opporunity satirist and she will lampoon anyone in her creations, be they Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat, Green, Christian Heritage, Republican or Democrat.<br />I hope we keep receiving calls now and then for I consider an earful of venom to be tangible proof newspapers are not quite poised to join the ranks of VHS tapes and Sony Walkmans.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-83635776266861486862011-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:002011-01-25T15:08:36.262-08:00Why on earth should an age-old reference rankle?There is the age of innocence, the age of majority, the age of Aquarius and the age of enlightenment.<br />Apparently, there can be no age of Pat Wallace.<br />Like fine wine, good cheese and wisdom, the veteran Kamloops city councillor seems to get better every year, though mentioning that fact has left some KTW readers — and Wallace herself — offended.<br />And, their offence has left me mystified.<br />In the Friday, Jan. 21, edition of our paper, there appeared on the bottom of the front page a story on who will be, who won’t be and who might be running for re-election in the November civic election.<br />Included in the story, penned by reporter Jeremy Deutsch and edited by myself, was this passage:<br />“Then there’s longtime city councillor Pat Wallace. Nearing the age of 80, she also intends to run again for another term. If successful, it would give her 30 years as a Kamloops councillor. Wallace said she still has plenty of time and energy to devote to the job. ‘When you’re on a while, you still have to have the same renewed interest and the desire to see the city progress, and I do,’ she said.”<br />For some reason, those words angered Wallace — who spoke to Deutsch — and offended readers Judith Naylor, Susan Endersby and Michael Hewitt (whose letter appears on the opposite page).<br />Endersby left a phone message for Deutsch, noting her disappointment with his “slam against” Wallace and wondering whether Deutsch was prejudiced against older women in politics or against women in general.<br />Endersby finished her voicemail by venturing Deutsch “wouldn’t have the balls to apologize.”<br />Well, Deutsch — who is perhaps the nicest reporter Endersby would ever have the pleasure of meeting — called Wallace, explained the age reference was not made in malice and did indeed apologize if the paragraph offended her.<br />Make no mistake, Deutsch has testicular fortitude.<br />Naylor complained about Deutsch’s “apparently casual dismissal of Pat Wallace as a candidate in the next election” and questioned whether Wallace’s age or gender led to such an offensive dispatch.<br />First, the allegedly offensive paragraph was anything but.<br />Wallace is the senior city councillor who is, in fact approaching 80 years of age (she chooses to refuse to disclose her age, which, while puzzling to me, is her prerogative). The reference to her age and her amazing number of years on council (three decades if she is re-elected) is not only noteworthy, but admirable.<br />Duetsch included those facts as a way to honour Wallace’s stellar career. <br />At an age when many have retired from all activities, when few remain in politics, when some are in serious health decline, Wallace soldiers on.<br />A “casual dismissal of Pat Wallace as a candidate”? How on earth could Naylor or anybody extract such an interpretation?<br />If anything, the story tells readers Wallace has not lost her passion — doing anything with vigour for 30 years is tough, regardless of one’s age — and remains a formidable candidate in November, when she will again be a heavy favourite for re-election.<br />Like it or not, age can have relevance in politics and everything else in life.<br />One cannot vote until the age of 18. Drinking is illegal until the 19th birthday. Sixteen is the magic number to take the wheel. The president of the United States of America must be at least 35 years of age.<br />Beyond those laws of age, there are various examples of how the media uses age as a central point in a story.<br />The oldest and youngest on city council, in the provincial legislature or in the House of Commons is commonly referred to in myriad news stories, if for nothing else than the fact it’s interesting.<br />In the 2008 Kamloops civic election, we were not the only media outlet to make a point of noting who the youngest candidates were.<br />Why? Because it’s interesting and highlights the ongoing debate over youth participation in politics.<br />Less than three months ago, the media in Manitoba spilled plenty of ink reporting the fact 18-year-old Mike Lawson had become the youngest school trustee ever elected in that province.<br />I don’t believe Lawson took offence at his age being part of the story.<br />There’s a reason KTW and other media outlets receive calls about the 100-year-old’s birthday or the amazing skills of the 98-year-old curler or the inspiration that is the 81-year-old deciding to finish her high-school studies and graduate with her Dogwood certificate.<br />It’s the same reason stories flow from expert six-year-old pianists, 12-year-old geniuses in medical school and teenagers who do heroic deeds in their community.<br />It’s because these are interesting, laudable tales.<br />Noting Wallace is nearing eight decades on this earth and remains vitally engaged in the municipal process is noteworthy.<br />Why some view that negatively remains a mystery to me, since it is nothing but admirable from this newspaper’s view.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-90725920933151283222011-01-05T22:36:00.000-08:002011-01-05T22:48:48.452-08:00Kamloops Blazers perfect the art of how NOT to tackle an issue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/TSVjk9FhVsI/AAAAAAAAAFU/HgaOqMWbNWQ/s1600/kamloops_blazers_2006-07.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/TSVjk9FhVsI/AAAAAAAAAFU/HgaOqMWbNWQ/s320/kamloops_blazers_2006-07.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558958801582905026" /></a><br />He's a really nice guy when you meet him, but, sometimes, the aw-shucks, Richie Cunningham eagerness of Jarome Iginla can get annoying.<br />The Calgary Flames' captain's obsession with not saying anything that would edge him out of the Blandquotesville of which he is mayor continued this week when he was finally asked about his junior hockey club's decision to not allow Kamloops Daily News sports editor Gregg Drinnan to speak to anyone with the club.<br />The Kamloops Blazers are fighting for a playoff spot and have been a consistently mediocre team since their glory days of the mid-1990s, having not won a playoff series since 1999.<br />Drinnan's coverage of the Blazers is complete and intense and he writes a blog that is considered the go-to site for Western Hockey League news.<br />(And I say that as editor of the newspaper that is the competitor to his).<br />Drinnan is also considered by many to be rather negative and has written columns and stories that might be considered less than positive in their evaluation of the Blazers.<br />Furthermore, there are many who profess their dislike for the man.<br />Apparently, his Dec. 21 column on the state of the club entering the Christmas break was the ink that soiled the back of Blazers' GM Craig Bonner (or, more likely, I suspect, majority owner Tom Gaglardi).<br />In any event, the team decided it was tired of what it sees as negative reporting and delivered a letter to the newspaper, declaring Drinnan to be journalist non grata.<br />There are repeated references on the web regarding Drinnan being "banned" from covering the team.<br />I don't think that's an accurate description.<br />He still enters the arena; he still walks up to the press box; he still watches the game and powers up his computer and writes his game summary; he still wanders down to the dressing-room area, where he is free to interview players and coaches from the opposing team.<br />What Drinnan cannot do is speak to Blazer players, while the adults in the team's coaching staff and above refuse to speak with him.<br />Not sure if that's a ban or simply a decision by the hockey team to decline to speak to a reporter. Either way, the Blazers couldn't have created a better way to sully their name (more on that in a bit).<br />Back to Iginla.<br />He is part-owner of the Blazers, along with Darryl Sydor (retired NHLer), Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes) and Mark Recchi (Boston Bruins). Majority owner is Gaglardi, who helps run his family's business (Sandman Hotels, Shark Club, Moxies, Denny's et al).<br />When a major junior hockey club with the presence in Kamloops akin that of the Canucks in Vancouver embarks on a public-relations disaster such as this, one would assume the decision — as poorly conceived as it has been — would require the input, if not approval, of ownership.<br />Our paper contacted Recchi, who spoke with sports reporter Marty Hastings at length on the subject. Doan was interviewed on Toronto's Fan 590 radio station and spoke at length on the Drinnan affair.<br />Yet, Iginla claimed ignorance when queried on the story by the Calgary Sun's Randy Sportak.<br />"I know it’s a serious issue, but, to be honest, it’s something I don’t know a lot about," Iginla said. "It’s more the day-to-day [people] with the operations there in Kamloops. I don’t think it would be fair to give my opinion without knowing the day-to-day stuff, so I’m going to have to not make a comment.”<br />Is it reasonable to believe a part-owner of a team purchased for $7 million wouldn't be privy to what was done and why?<br />Doesn't pass the smell test.<br />As for the decision by the Blazers to deliver a letter to the Daily News and inform the paper that Drinnan will not be permitted to speak with Blazer personnel unless his coverage takes on a more positive tone?<br />Pure bush league and the avalanche of negative response to the club's asinine directive continues to bounce around the world (literally) on the Internet.<br />Go online and do a search for "Kamloops" on Twitter. Check out Facebook. Surf some blogs and do a simply "Kamloops" search on Google news and you will find the Blazers are, at this moment, the punchline of an embarrassing joke.<br />The decision to greenlight the Drinnan project is almost on par with the club's decision in the mid-1990s to fire legendary GM Bob Brown in a desire to go in a new direction — immediately after winning yet another Memorial Cup.<br />Seriously, when this brouhaha is finally laid to rest, it will stand as a prime example of how NOT to resolve a problem.<br />There's an old saying: "Never pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrel" and that applies here to a degree.<br />But, more importantly, the Blazers have come across looking like a thin-skinned bully who cannot handle criticism, even when it is justified.<br />Sure, Drinnan can make the Grim Reaper look like Pee Wee Herman at times, but he knows his stuff. If he had written a column or story rife with factual errors or riddled with gratuitous pot shots on specific players, one might have more sympathy for the team.<br />But, from what I have read, Drinnan's pieces deal with the general state of the club as he sees it. I don't know if I have read an article of his in which a player is criticized, as was claimed by Doan in his interview with the Fan 590.<br />Drinnan also makes a point to regularly comment on the Blazers' attendance woes, which is more than fair comment.<br />What better way to gauge a team's standing in the community than by the bodies that walk through the doors of Interior Savings Centre?<br />Many is the night I have sat in the arena and chuckled at the announced attendance when the sea of empty, blue seats reveals the actual attendance to be much, much thinner.<br />(Yes, I know teams announce attendance based in tickets sold. But, when public-address announcer Bill O'Donovan declares the attendance to have been 4,300 when no more than 3,000 fans dot Interior Savings Centre, it's an issue worthy of comment. Sure, the team may have sold 4,300 tickets to a particular game, but if 1,000 or more of those tickets are wasting away in drawers in homes throughout Kamloops, that is a story).<br />The two sides can bicker long into the night about what constitutes fair and balanced reporting, but the fact remains the sports media is not a promotional arm of the Kamloops Blazers.<br />The sports media does not exist to massage the team's ego.<br />If there is something positive to report, it should be reported. If there is something less positive to report, it should be reported. If there is controversy, it should be investigated.<br />Coverage can be basic, serious, edgy, funny — it should encompass everything and the team should collectively man up and accept the roses and tolerate the thorns.<br />The media is there to report, to find stories within the game story, to dig for features and profiles and to deliver this to its readership or viewership or listenership, warts and all.<br />Back when the Blazers were collecting Memorial Cups as Tiger Woods collected mistresses, I was a reporter in the Lower Mainland, covering a provincial election campaign.<br />For some reason, the local NDP campaign decided it did not like my reporting and sent a team of three to demand that my editor, Gord Kurenoff, replace me with another reporter on the beat.<br />Not only did Kurenoff decline the demand while showing the trio the door, he called me in, told me what was up and urged me to continue doing what I was doing — and to include the NDP in all coverage by granting the candidate and his campaign manager every opportunity to comment.<br />The campaign continued and I carried on.<br />The NDP contingent decided to not to speak with our paper and life went on.<br />The point is, this happens in journalism more than people might think — but the public is generally not privy to such occurrences.<br />When the issue does become public — such as with the Daily News, or when Province columnist Tony Gallagher was reportedly targeted by then-Canucks GM Brian Burke, or when the New York Islanders this year banned blogger Chris Botta, or when the Miami Heat refused to issue press credentials to Esquire magazine's Scott Raab — the team shutting out the media always looks foolish, petty and thin-skinned.<br />You know, I try and try and try to explain to my 12-year-old daughter that, if she simply ignores her little brother as he incessantly provokes her, he will eventually get bored and move on to something else.<br />The Blazers would do well to compare notes with my daughter.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-76437847656147924372010-12-17T15:36:00.000-08:002010-12-17T15:43:15.038-08:00More idiocy — on the taxpayers' dimeThink things cannot get more ridiculous?<br />Check out this press release from Simon Fraser University, essentially calling for Canadians to tone down Christmas displays lest it offend people from other cultures.<br />There aren't words to describe how asinine this study and its conclusions are.<br />We are in Canada. Christmas is a Canadian tradition. It is part of Canadian culture.<br />If I lived in Saudi Arabia, I would EXPECT to be inundated with references to Ramadan. <br />Why? Because I am in their country.<br />When in Rome and all that.<br />I can only shake my head at such nonsense and wonder why tax dollars pay for such tripe.<br />The last line in particular is absolutely ludicrous.<br /><br />Read on ...<br /><br />Christmas displays have emotional consequences <br /><br />Christmas displays can undermine the psychological well-being of people who do not celebrate the holiday, according to a new Simon Fraser University study. “<br />This research demonstrates that the pervasive presence of Christmas displays in December makes people who do not celebrate Christmas feel like they don’t belong, and it harms their emotional well-being,” said SFU associate psychology professor Michael Schmitt. The study was conducted by Schmitt, SFU psychology professor Stephen Wright, and SFU grads Kelly Davies and Mandy Hung.<br />Their research was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in an article called, “Identity moderates the effects of Christmas displays on mood, self-esteem, and inclusion.” <br />Two experiments were conducted to examine the emotional consequences of being in the presence of a Christmas tree. SFU students were brought to a lab and randomly assigned to work in one of two rooms – one that had a 12-inch Christmas tree on a desk and one that didn’t.<br />The participants, who were not aware they were part of a study about the effects of Christmas trees, then completed a questionnaire about their mood. <br />The first study investigated the effects of the Christmas tree for participants who, several months earlier, had reported whether or not they celebrate Christmas. For those who did not celebrate Christmas, being in the room with the Christmas tree led to a less positive mood compared to being in a room with no tree. In particular, the Christmas display made non-celebrators feel less sure about themselves (what psychologists call “self-assurance”). <br />Participants who did celebrate Christmas showed the opposite response – the presence of the tree led to a more positive mood. The second study investigated the effects of a Christmas display on students from different religious backgrounds. Students who identified with a religion other than Christianity (Sikhs and Buddhists) experienced a less positive mood, particularly less self-assurance, in the presence of the tree.<br />The tree also made Sikhs and Buddhists feel less included at the university. The tree did not affect Christian students’ sense of inclusion at the university, but it did lead them to a more positive mood. <br />“When you consider that Christmas displays are almost everywhere, it starts to add up,” said Wright. “It can create a sense that everyone is expected to celebrate. For people who don’t, or who already have their own rich cultural traditions, the sheer number of Christmas displays can be seen as a message that they don’t belong.” “<br />All of the researchers involved in these studies celebrate Christmas,” said Schmitt. <br />“Our findings in no way suggest that we need to put an end to all holiday displays, but our research does suggest that we need to be more thoughtful about the presence of Christmas displays in many social situations. “<br />These displays can make people of some cultures feel less included. This is especially important in social spaces where we value inclusion and respect for cultural and religious diversity, such as schools and workplaces. In such contexts, the safest course of action in terms of respecting diversity is to avoid putting up Christmas displays altogether. <br />But we, as a society, could go a long way toward addressing this challenge by simply toning down the presence of Christmas displays.” Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-21100640333916064852010-11-23T17:59:00.000-08:002010-11-23T18:11:33.275-08:00New owner; same newspaper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/TOxyx00NO9I/AAAAAAAAAE4/j--bv13WoZg/s1600/Kamloops%2BThis%2BWeek.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 109px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/TOxyx00NO9I/AAAAAAAAAE4/j--bv13WoZg/s320/Kamloops%2BThis%2BWeek.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542931441703009234" /></a><br /><br />It has now been almost two months since our newspaper was sold by Black Press to a venture headed by Bob Doull under the Thompson River Publication Limited Partnership name.<br />Doull also bought Black Press's Merritt Herald and Prince George Free Press newspapers as part of the deal, which may or may not be connected to a July deal that saw Black Press buy a number of newspapers in the Kootenays from Glacier, which happens to own the Kamloops Daily News.<br />On the day the sale was announced, there were some tears (shed, I would guess, out of fear of what this would bring), confusion (Kamloops This Week has become a very healthy newspaper in the past few years) and plenty of questions.<br />Black Press COO Rick O'Connor took questions, answered what he could and commented on the fluidity of the newspaper business.<br />I suppose being sold can be seen as a good sign in that we are not closing in this most-precarious time in the newspaper industry.<br />So, now, two months in, what has the sale wrought?<br />Well, aside from the expected front-office accounting issues regarding reorganizing payroll and payable and receivables and all that mind-numbing stuff, not much that would be evident on the pages of the newspaper.<br />Regular readers of Kamloops This Week would never know we had been sold by Black Press to Thompson River had we not announced it in the newspaper and online at kamloopsthisweek.com.<br />And, that is because, from an editorial point of view, nothing has changed.<br />Our staffing remains the same (that is to say it remains skeletal, which I am fond of continually reminding my boss!), as does and the pursuit of news and stories.<br />Speaking of my boss, publisher Kelly Hall, his job has only become busier as he is now group publisher for Kamloops, Merritt and Prince George and must attend to details in all three locations.<br />But, for the newsroom, it has been, thus far, business as usual.<br />We even continue a relationship with Black Press in that we share stories and photos.<br />If the Kamloops Storm are in Penticton or the Kamloops Blazers in Chilliwack or the Kamloops Broncos in Nanaimo or the Kamloops Excel in White Rock, we can access their photos — and vice-versa.<br />That relationship remains vital for KTW and Black Press newspapers.<br />In addition, we continue to have access to Black Press legislative correspondent Tom Fletcher's stories, columns and photos.<br />Our web site, as Internet users will notice, has not changed and continues to be managed by the Black Press new media division in Surrey.<br />It's funny. Since I joined Black Press in 1992, rarely had a week gone by that a reader was not accusing us of carrying the message of (insert governing party name here) on the orders of our owner.<br />Never happened, of course, but the accusations never ceased.<br />When we were sold to Doull's group, I received a few messages along the same line, heralding this joyous day as one in which KTW will finally be able to report the real news without being strangled by the pro-B.C. Liberal chain of oppression wielded by Black Press.<br />Well, that chain didn't exist then and doesn't exist now.<br />We remain a newspaper of political independence, one that will (hopefully) continue to please and irk those on both sides of the political spectrum.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-28139014228281420532010-09-24T11:01:00.001-07:002010-09-24T11:06:10.736-07:00When that rental-scam is not classifiedIn this Brave New World, allow me to extol some of the benefits of newspapers.<br />This week, myself and a reporter met with two journalism students who are working on a story involving a mass rental scam in Kamloops.<br />Guy advertises rental place, collects money from various people and rips them off.<br />These scams have existed for a long time in various forms.<br />Thankfully, the two J-School students managed to retrieve their belongings (apparently, the scam artist has been known to pawn off items moved in by unsuspecting victims) and the con artist has been charged and will have his day in court.<br />However, it got me thinking about the benefits and pitfalls of the expansion of free web sites — kijiji and craigslist, etc. — on which to advertise.<br />True, these sites are free and can be geared specifically to those seeking your wares and your wares only.<br />Classified ads in a paper like KTW cost money (though a pittance), but are also geared specifically to those seeking your wares and your wares only.<br />Classified ads in papers throughout North America have taken a beating and, well, that's something brighter mind than mind must tackle as newspapers adjust to this new information age.<br />However . . . however . . . this rental-scam incident reminded me why newspaper ads are, generally speaking, more reliable.<br />When the two journalism students called kijiji to ask about security provisions when accepting such ads, they were told, essentially, viewing and responding to ads is akin to caveat emptor.<br />When one places an ad in a newspaper, one must pay for the ad and include contact information.<br />This is not to say scams cannot be undertaken through the printed press, They can and are. <br />But, in this case, I would argue it would be far more difficult for a con man to pull such a ruse through the pages of KTW or the Kamloops Daily News than via the freedom of the Internet.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-54362029780599297842010-07-28T22:37:00.001-07:002010-07-28T22:45:22.037-07:00Newspapering in the social-media age<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/TFEVWCoPAcI/AAAAAAAAAEg/LOK_llhdxXA/s1600/news+social+media.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 189px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/TFEVWCoPAcI/AAAAAAAAAEg/LOK_llhdxXA/s320/news+social+media.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499200088403018178" /></a><br />Chronic insomnia and social media can be a mighty potent mix that produces a cocktail of information immediacy virtually impossible in the newspaper world of a decade ago.<br />While Wednesday morning's massive fire in the Dallas-Barnhartvale area was threatening to eradicate the beloved Pineridge Golf Course, I was trying yet again, in vain, to fall asleep.<br />I finally gave up the fight at 2:30 a.m. and rose to read a book and perhaps wander outside to escape the stifling heat inside the house.<br />For some reason, I decided to first pick up my IPod and check my email. I then pressed the Facebook button and learned right then and there — courtesy of the Facebook page of CFJC-TV reporter Geoff Hastings — of the fire.<br />Or, as Hastings downplayed it: "Big Fire! East Kamloops is burning!"<br />It was the witching hour and I needed to find my phone. It was charging and, once I turned it on, a text message appeared from KTW reporter Melissa Lampman. It was sent about two hours earlier. She was at the fire and shooting pics.<br />I then texted another KTW reporter, Jeremy Deutsch. He texted back that he was at the fire. I called him and he described the scene as he stood metres from flames as the clock neared three in the morning.<br />From there, Deutsch relayed basic information, which I typed into my Mac laptop and posted on our Kamloops This Week website.<br />A few hours later, the story had been updated a few times and complemented with Deutsch's video of the blaze, a slide show of some of Lampman's photos and a map showing where the fire was raging.<br />All in all, an impressive job by two reporters whose desire to know and tell others is obviously bred in the bone. That much was evident as the darkness of morning gave way to the hot sun of day and both reporters were at their desks, working on the fire story and photos, while tackling far too many other stories and newsroom duties.<br />Let's just say that, by 1 p.m. or so, Deutsch and Lampman could have secured roles in every George Romero film ever made.<br />When you work for a newspaper that has reduced its publishing cycle to twice a week, and you are faced with daunting competition that publishes and broadcasts far more frequently, the web is the one platform that can even the playing field.<br />And so it has been the philosophy of KTW, and every other Black Press newspaper, to always attack the Internet ferociously.<br />The unofficial mantra has been: Post stories now. Attach photos. Add video when possible. Repeat.<br />The traditionalist in me still winces at this impatience.<br />That would be the part of me who still longs for the days when waiting on your doorstep for the afternoon Vancouver Sun to arrive carried a nervous joy that is hard to describe; the part of me who was up at dawn, staring out the kitchen window, willing the Province paperboy to plunk down the very first tabloid edition in the summer of 1983; the part of me who, as a child, settled down with the box scores and a pencil every day as a daily ritual after reading every page of the newspaper; the part of me who recognizes a fellow news junkie by perpetually smudged elbows (think about it).<br />But the traditionalist in me recognizes that Denny Boyd, Jim Murray, Jimmy Breslin and Damon Runyon aren't coming back. <br />And so it is we must go forward — and that road includes the now, now, now demands of the Internet.<br />I don't know if Facebook and Twitter and the assortment of social-media sites will ever replace traditional newspapers. I highly doubt it.<br />But complement and aid in the pursuit of journalism?<br />Absolutely. They have been doing so in countless ways for a few years — and this week's evolution of our coverage of the Dallas-Barnhartvale fire — though texting and tweeting and Facebooking and, of course, basic feet-on-the-ground reporting — is a classic example of the future being now.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-37724124181855570522010-07-07T20:49:00.000-07:002010-07-07T20:50:37.051-07:00Following a storyA one-year-old boy died in December 2009 at a Kamloops day care for no apparent reason.<br />It was a tragedy beyond comprehension and, because the death occurred in a government-licensed facility, it was reported by the Interior Health Authority and soon became significant news, reported on by our paper and all other city and provincial media.<br />The death occurred, there was no cause and the story went away . . . until last week, when the coroner released the report on the death of the little boy.<br />Turns out they still don't know why he died.<br />The report said a heart condition may have contributed, but they will never know.<br />The report shed light on what the kids at the day care were doing on Dec. 9, 2009, the day the little boy died.<br />It was heartbreaking to read: The kids went on a special outing to see Santa; the little boy choked a bit on his soup later that day, but that did not contribute to his death. He had trouble going down for nap, so a day-care staffer was with him until he could fall asleep.<br />He then died in his sleep.<br />When we received the report, I immediately gave it to a reporter and immediately tabbed it as news.<br />And it is news. Significant news in that it is the logical and only follow-up to the news story in December that was reported on by all media.<br />It is sad news, no doubt, but news nonetheless.<br />The story was straightforward and even clinical in its detachment.<br />Shortly after it was published on July 2, I received an email from a friend of the family, upset that we would report on the coroner's report.<br />I read another message online, chastising up for the same and criticizing us for not warning the boy's mother we were publishing the story and for not mentioning the fact the little boy had had his immunization shots shortly before he died.<br />(The writer inferred the shots may have been connected to the boy's death).<br />I responded to the email by echoing what I am writing here — that following a story is what we do; that following the story of a boy's mysterious death is something that needs to be done, if only to let the public know:<br />a) the coroner has completed the investigation<br />b) the day care did nothing wrong<br />We hold a responsibility to follow through with stories when we can.<br />As for the online criticism, I can only say we do not know who the parents are, but are always willing to speak to them if they wish (but we are never going to seek to learn their identities, which is macabre reporting).<br />As for the little boy's immunization shot, we didn't report on them because we didn't know about them. There is no mention of them in the coroner's report.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-45732616391049889422010-04-28T22:50:00.000-07:002010-04-28T22:56:21.972-07:00Of dinosaurs and meteorites<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/S9kfaS4qX8I/AAAAAAAAAEE/v7LnoipyTHA/s1600/zyglis.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/S9kfaS4qX8I/AAAAAAAAAEE/v7LnoipyTHA/s320/zyglis.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465434159397363650" /></a><br />If newspapers made from dead trees truly are the dinosaurs of the media, as some claim, then print deadlines, particularly ours at KTW, are the meteorites.<br />Once again, our deadline, over which we have no control (as I have covered in previous posts) happened to fall this week just before a Kamloops Mountie shot a man who tried to run him down.<br />Oh, we had a reporter and photographer on the scene right away and we had all the information and quotes online as soon as possible.<br />But, as this exciting incident occurred just after our paper went to press (our deadlines are an absurd 11 a.m. for various reasons), our paper landed on the doorsteps the next morning with nary a word about the Wild West carnage that stretched from downtown Kamloops to the North Shore.<br />Our website was up-to-date, of course, but still, I would guess far more people read our actual newspaper than clicked on our website.<br />This is all supposed to change as the newspaper industry continues its metamorphosis, brought on by the Internet.<br />But it's tough to see it happening soon.<br />Our website is good. We try to update constantly and it allows us to post video and links and all that good stuff.<br />But it simply would not be viable on its own.<br />I don't think there are any web-only news sites that exist without a printed product bringing in advertising dollars or without a third-party benefactor, as in the case of The Tyee, with its funding from the B.C. Federation of Labour.<br />The Wall Street Journal is often cited as one of the few pay-wall systems that have been successful. Still, the Wall Street Journal remains first and foremost a newspaper, and one that is expanding its role in the ink and paper format as it re-ignites a glorious newspaper war with the New York Times.<br />The Christian Science Monitor went online for the week, cutting back to only weekend print editions. Not sure how that is going, but the CSM is one damn fine paper, online or offline.<br />One year ago,The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, operating under a partnership, cut back home delivery to three days per week.<br />But they keep printing every day and have the papers available for purchase in stores and at newstands.<br />The companies are reporting this endeavour to be a success so far and, while online reporting and traffic to the sites has increased, they still need the printed product to stave off insolvency.<br />Closer to home, an ambitious web-only news site started by former Black Press reporter Marshall Jones has ended, just 10 months after being launched.<br />Kelowna.com was all news, all the time and managed to hire away some Black Press reporters in Kelowna and Penticton.<br />It did stalwart work on last summer's wildfire in West Kelowna, was updated constantly, had a magnificent variety and a good layout.<br />It had everything but advertising dollars and enough readers, apparently, as Jones explains in his final column on the site.<br />That such a venture would die so soon is depressing and only enhances my argument that the printed product is in no danger of being replaced by a web-only news source.<br />Not even close.<br />Oh, the printed product is in danger of dying on its own — and the obituary list is long indeed — but it remains the healthier medium in any print/web partnership.<br />Maybe this will change more rapidly with gadgets such as the IPad and Kindle and the like, but I doubt it.<br />There is just a connectivity that a physical newspaper has that the most technologically advanced website, electronic news reader or I-this or I-that will never achieve.<br />Well, maybe not "never," but not any time soon.<br />And the proof is in the news.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-51157895195512273402010-04-26T23:06:00.001-07:002010-04-28T23:02:29.883-07:00To report or not to report — that is the question<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/S9kg7lIjHqI/AAAAAAAAAEM/-1LZ-uLW36Y/s1600/Press-Hat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/S9kg7lIjHqI/AAAAAAAAAEM/-1LZ-uLW36Y/s320/Press-Hat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465435830743146146" /></a><br />At what point do we not report the news?<br />Obviously, there is never enough newsprint, reporters or time to report everything, which is why we have editors (such as me) and other newsroom staff to determine what should be covered and how, and what stories should be held or simply set aside permanently.<br />The question is very timely for me in light of my decision to proceed with a story regarding the arrest and subsequent warrant for the arrest of noted Kamloops-area writer Richard Wagamese.<br />The author of several best-selling books and former host of One Native Life, a regular feature on the CFJC-TV evening news, was arrested in March and charged with two drunk-driving offences.<br />Melissa Lampman, a reporter in our newsroom, learned of the arrest and the date of Wagamese's first court appearance.<br />I decided we should be there to see what transpired.<br />As it turned out, Wagamese did not show up at court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.<br />So, a nationally known, award-winning author from Pinantan Lake is arrested for allegedly committing a serious offence (and drinking and driving is a serious allegation) and subsequently has a warrant issued for his arrest.<br />Does that not qualify as a news item?<br />If John Irving was in the same predicament, or Stephen King, or John Ralston Saul, or Douglas Coupland — wouldn't that be considered newsworthy by a raft of media outlets?<br />We decided to run the story as the secondary front-page article, a 250-word piece down the right side of the page.<br />That same day, I received a call from Wagamese's wife, who was very upset we reported on her husband's troubles. We had a fairly lengthy conversation — she explaining why she thought we should have left the story alone; me explaining why we felt it was a story deserving of publication.<br />She mentioned there were issues aside from alcohol use involved in her husband's travails. I replied we were unaware of those and were unsuccessful in contacting Wagamese.<br />A few days later, I received two letters from readers disappointed that we published the story. Both letters appeared in our Opinion section, with one letter writer calling the story "yellow journalism."<br />We have yet to receive a single call, pro or con, regarding our coverage of the arrest of Kamloops RCMP Tom Grainger on impaired-driving charges.<br />Grainger flipped his vehicle in Pineview Valley on the Easter long weekend. On Monday, April 26, he pleaded guilty in court.<br />Grainger may have issues aside from alcohol use, but does that preclude the media from reporting on his case?<br />At what point do we not report on criminal matters? Does the severity of the crime dictate the decision? How about the person involved? Should the arrest of an unknown carpenter demand as much coverage as the arrest of a local politician on an identical charge? How about the arrest of a well-known artist as opposed to the arrest of a hardware store clerk?<br />These are not rhetorical questions. They are serious queries to which I would like some feedback.<br />Every newspaper and every newspaper editor has differing criteria on when and what to report.<br />Some, including myself, will occasionally take it on a case-by-case basis.<br />As for Wagamese, can a person who makes his living with the written word, and whose career is aided in some way by media coverage of his work, expect that same media to ignore what appears to be a very real and serious criminal matter that involves him?<br />And, if so, why?<br />Wagamese's arrest warrant was eventually set aside after he and the police made contact. He was in court today (April 26) and will return in June for an arraignment hearing.<br />We are reporting this next stage in his court proceedings and we will continue coverage until the matter is resolved, despite the continued criticism from those close to Wagamese.<br />The author knows he has an open invitation to sit down with Lampman and discuss anything he wishes.<br />Perhaps the publicity of his arrest and court journey will result in lessons to be learned for younger people who admire Wagamese and his work.<br />Perhaps he can impart some hard-earned wisdom from his experiences that just might change a life for the better.<br />That's up to him and we remain open to a discussion.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-34337136085288475452010-03-20T21:27:00.000-07:002010-03-20T21:28:36.700-07:00Did he write it? Did you ask if he wrote it?This week's news regarding a Facebook message that appeared on Bill McQuarrie's home page is another example of the need to verify or contact those involved before publishing.<br />McQuarrie is the executive director of Interior Science Innovation Council and has been working with Kim Sigurdson, the president of the Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation, which had been planning to operate a gasification project in Kamloops in which creosote-soaked rail ties would be used.<br />McQuarrie told KTW he has no idea how the posting appeared on his Facebook page on Thursday morning.<br />The fact is, the message was posted under his name; therefore, someone who had access to McQuarrie's username and password posted the message, which infers strongly that he and others had been working behind the scenes for some time to find another community to locate the Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation's gasification project.<br />In the posting, which reads like a letter or an e-mail, a reference is made to a "Terry" (presumably Kamloops-North Thompson Liberal MLA Terry Lake) and claims "Terry" has been told what to say and has received his marching orders from more powerful Liberals in the party.<br />A reporter at KTW is "friends" with McQuarrie on Facebook and came across the odd posting on Thursday morning, a day before the Facebook message made its way to Ruth Madsen, chairwoman of Thompson Institute of Environmental Studies and a vocal opponent of the ACC. <br />While we saw the Facebook page and saved a copy, we could not very well report on it without first speaking to McQuarrie, Lake and ACC president Kim Sigurdson.<br />Our deadline was 11 a.m. on Thursday and we could not talk to McQuarrie before then.<br />We finally contacted McQuarrie on Friday morning and immediately after reporter Jeremy Deutsch conducted a long, taped interview with him, Madsen's mass e-mail regarding the Facebook posting landed in my e-mail box.<br />McQuarrie denied he wrote the message, despite the fact it appears to be a private Facebook message that may have been accidentally posted for many to see.<br />He denied it even when we pointed out it was posted by his account.<br />McQuarrie noted he had seen a CTV News story the night before, a story that dealt with those who hack Facebook and other social-network sites.<br />As of Friday, McQuarrie continued to deny he posted the message, though there are many — yours truly included — who view such a claim with extreme skepticism.<br />When I was first alerted to the message, my first thought was: Who would be stupid enough to post that publicly? My second thought was: I bet that was intended to be a private message and someone pressed the wrong button.<br />However, McQuarrie repeatedly denied writing it, and we must, at this point, accept his testimony.<br />But the manner in which Madsen distributed the message is troubling.<br />I contacted her in Palm Desert, Calif., where she is visiting, and asked if she had contacted McQuarrie to determine if he had, in fact, posted the message.<br />She said she did not.<br />Did she contact Sigurdson or Lake?<br />She did not.<br />She did volunteer that she passed the information by a lawyer before e-mailing it to various people, media outlets included.<br />That's not good enough.<br />It could very well be that McQuarrie had his Facebook site hacked by a clever and vengeful opponent of the ACC proposal.<br />Highly unlikely, but possible.<br />Perhaps McQuarrie left his laptop unattended while having coffee at Starbucks and a clever and vengeful opponent of the ACC proposal waited for that specific, opportune time to hijack the keyboard and post the message.<br />Again, highly unlikely, but possible.<br />The point is, we don't know.<br />But we — including Madsen — need to ask before rushing out with a condemnation that offers as fact that McQuarrie is the author.<br />We waited until we could contact him, and Lake (Sigurdson simply could not be reached) before posting the story online.<br />McQuarrie denies posting something on his Facebook site that only he (or someone with knowledge of his username and password) could have done.<br />Once we had that, we could proceed and let the readers decide what they want to believe.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-48935675677790145092010-02-23T15:46:00.000-08:002010-04-28T23:05:35.764-07:00You asked — and I shall answer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/S9khqCkfViI/AAAAAAAAAEU/3EpitMaNoJI/s1600/Q%26A.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 221px; height: 251px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N54AZIBwGWo/S9khqCkfViI/AAAAAAAAAEU/3EpitMaNoJI/s320/Q%26A.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465436628918949410" /></a><br />I received a letter to the editor this week, posing questions to a column I penned on Feb. 10, 2010. The letter will run in our Feb. 26, 2010 edition, but I wanted to use my blog to answer the questions as there is not enough space to do so in print.<br /><br />Editor:<br />Where indeed is the science regarding the proposed Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation (ACC) gasification plant?<br />A few questions for KTW editor Christopher Foulds regarding his Feb.10 column (‘Not exactly an environmental armageddon’):<br />1) Foulds states “there are plenty of similar gasification projects throughout the world.” <br />Where? “Similar” is not the same as “identical”. Furthermore, it is not a quantifiable term. Even the ACC’s own press releases state this process has never been used on a large scale and that it would be a demonstration facility.<br />2) Foulds states “emissions . . . will be minuscule . . . Where is the information supporting this? He needs to provide the scientific peer-reviewed studies that confirm this. And minuscule is not an exact term. He needs to use words that are observable and measurable.<br />3) Foulds states “emissions . . . will be monitored with extreme scrutiny.”<br />A Ministry of Environment official admitted recently that limited monitoring equipment in Kamloops does not have the capacity to detect and measure the tiniest particles, which may well be the most detrimental to health. Again, measurable, quantifiable standards are needed.<br />4) Foulds cites a comparison that he describes as ludicrous. But he does not hesitate to make a comparison between emissions from this proposed plant and those of a wood-burning stove. This certainly does not sound scientific to me. <br />The last I heard, there should be only a single variable when conducting an experiment, which this plant would be. Once more, quantifiable, measurable standards are required.<br />5) Foulds accuses those who oppose this plant as instigating mass hysteria. On the contrary. Many people are simply waking up and using their common sense and democratic rights to question the advisability of spewing still more pollutants into the air we breathe. The airshed in our valley is already giving my friends and neighbours respiratory problems.<br />Anne Grube<br />Kamloops<br /><br /><br />Editor’s note:<br />Grube asks and I shall answer:<br />1) Perhaps I should have worded that with more precision and referred to the technology of gasification in general, for there are indeed facilities “like it” throughout the world, using all sorts of waste as feedstock. As for the use of creosote-treated wood, here’s one: Enerkem has run a pilot gasification pilot plant in Sherbrooke, Que. for seven years, in which is processed creosote-treated wood in an operation that produces ethanol and other fuels. For the past year, it has operated a larger plant in Westbury, Que. Yes, I am well aware of what the critics say with respect to the number of hours in use and power produced, but the City of Edmonton is convinced, as is the town of Pontotoc, Mississippi, both of which will see similar facilities — both of which will include treated wood as a fuel.<br />2) and 3) The facility will be allowed emissions of 300 cubic metres per minute, which is virtually negligible when compared to emission rates from other industrial players in Kamloops, such as Domtar and Lafarge. In fact, there is no other such permit in Kamloops that requires testing for all the following: total particulate matter (including condensable organics), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons (as methane), volatile organic compounds, oxygen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, total polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, hydrogen chloride, chlorophenols, chlorobenzenes, hydrogen sulfide, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury.<br />Furthermore, discharges must be sampled within 30 days of start-up and quarterly thereafter; the ACC must submit to the MOE monthly reports with emissions data and an annual facility report; a web-based camera must be installed to allow MOE officials to view visible haze from emissions.<br />There has been arguments that MOE technology cannot measure nanoparticulate matter. That is an argument that can be extended to any pollution source. We can always argue by pointing to emissions of smaller and smaller size, to the point where every emission source will have particulates that cannot be measured.<br />When I was in Abbotsford and we covered the Sumas Energy 2 power-plant proposal, opponents pointed out that particulate matter 10 (PM10) was being measured, but not PM 2.5. When PM 2.5 was included, the arguments turned to nanoparticulate matter. Taken to the next step and beyond, any pollution source can be opposed because every pollution source will have emissions that are not captured by current technology. <br />4) Comparing the emissions of the proposed gasification plant to something tangible, such as a wood-burning stove, is necessary if the average person is to understand the amount of emissions projected. And it is the Ministry of Environment that has compared the total annual emissions of ACC’s proposed project to that which is emitted annually from a wood stove. And, I would argue, making such a comparison is a lot more clear than detailing numbers that do not make much sense to the layman. According to MOE permit #103943, the ACC proposal’s maximum rate of discharge will be 300 cubic metres pre minute, with total particulate matter, including condensable organics, of 10 milligrams per cubic metre and a maximum opacity of 10 per cent. I defy the average person to tell me what the hell that means. They are numbers that mean nothing to the vast majority of people. Yet, when the MOE provides a comparison we can wrap our heads around — such as a wood stove — it makes sense. It also makes sense to note the proposed plant will have a rate of discharge that is 86 times less than the largest source in the airshed and a particulate matter discharge that is 46 times less than the largest PM-emission source in the airshed. I would wager that we are impacted more negatively annually from the cumulative effect of wood-burning chimneys than we would be by the ACC proposal.<br />5) I have never accused those who oppose this plant as “instigating mass hysteria.” I have, however, accused some who oppose this plant as “instigating mass hysteria.” There have been some damn fine points made by those genuinely concerned about what this proposal may do to the health of Kamloopsians. Conversely, there have been ludicrous — yes, ludicrous — claims that cancer rates will rise, that people will use the ACC project as an excuse to not move here, that property values will plummet, that other communities have passed on housing ACC’s proposal. No data supports these assertions, yet some have used them as fact.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-65885474305276006362009-08-06T21:09:00.000-07:002009-08-06T21:10:48.227-07:00The shorts heard 'round the worldThe province is burning, the provincial government’s HST will increase the cost of living, Convergys is saying goodbye to Kamloops — and the story that has the most tongues wagging is the tale of Mohd Abdullah and his short shorts.<br />Kamloops This Week was the media outlet to first report on Adbullah’s ongoing debate with the city’s Tournament Capital Centre as to whether the shorts he prefers are a tad too skimpy for the public gym.<br />When Abdullah walked into the newsroom of KTW last week and gave us a synopsis of his tale, it was obvious his ongoing disagreement with TCC manager Clint Andersen would be a news story of interest.<br />But little did we realize how far and wide Abdullah’s clothing contretemps would travel.<br />The story was carried by local media. It was picked up on by the provincial media.<br />It was covered by the national media. It was the subject of ink in dozens of other newspapers from coast to coast.<br />Then there are the countless blogs and other websites that have linked to our original story.<br />The day the story ran on our website at kamloopsthisweek.com — that would be eight days ago — the editor of this newspaper received a phone call from Fox News in New York City, requesting permission to use our photo of Abdullah.<br />Then there was an e-mail query from a reporter in Perth, Australia . . .<br />The short story of Mohd Abdullah and his brief(s) battle is the stuff of water-cooler legend and can spread like the fires now engulfing B.C.<br />It speaks to the nature of the story and to the power of the Internet, which can and often does transform a cute local story and photo into an international debate.As for those shorts?<br />They are eyebrow-raising, to be sure, but nothing a good-quality jockstrap wouldn’t cure.javascript:void(0)Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2160646032264745993.post-63463400940399603532009-06-26T21:47:00.000-07:002009-06-26T22:22:17.172-07:00Verify, verify and, when you have — verify some more!The death of Michael Jackson proved again the immediacy of the web in reporting news.<br />It also illustrated how susceptible even news organizations can be in believing a report before independently verifying it to be true.<br />When reports broke that Jackson had been rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles, the race was on between traditional media outlets — most notable the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Times and CNN — and their cyberspace peers — most notable TMZ.com and myriad Twitter users — to be the first to declare Jackson dead or confirm a recovery.<br />As far as I can tell, TMZ.com was first to report the demise of the King of Pop, which is not surprising since TMZ has evolved from a celebrity-gossip website fighting with sites such as Defamer to becoming the leader in celebrity scoops.<br />Even as TMZ was reporting Jackson's death at the age of 50, the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post were working on independent verification and had, at the same time as TMZ's declaration, Jackson in a coma.<br />From my viewpoint, it appeared as though the three organizations did what is supposed to be done in journalism — verify before publishing.<br />TMZ's focus is solely on celebrities; therefore, it stands to reason it would be ahead of the pack in reporting on celebrities since it likely has unparalleled sources in the field. The Times and Post, of course, are news organizations with a far more widespread mandate. If the story was a political scandal, TMZ wouldn't even be participating (providing the scandal was bereft of lewdness and any connection to Hollywood), while the Post and Times and various others would be on the case.<br />Now, so farm so good.<br />A celebrity icon falls ill and dies and new and old media are covering it the old-fashioned way, working contacts and publishing online by the minute as new information is gleaned.<br />However, amid this frenzy were what I would call Twidiots, those among us with Twitter accounts who began posting false reports of other celebrities dying this day.<br />Just before Jackson was rushed to hospital, Farrah Fawcett's death from cancer was announced, leaving June 25 as a momentous day in celebrity obituaries. Earlier in the week, Ed McMahon, the legendary sidekick to Johnny Carson, died.<br />Perhaps this trifecta of tragic news was too much for some Twidiots as word spread virally that actor Jeff Goldblum had died following a fall while filming a movie in New Zealand. <br />The odd thing is this rumour was quickly being reported as a rumour on various sites compiled by the Google news aggregator.<br />Harrison Ford was then offered up as dying and the whole thing got out of control.<br />Turns out Goldblum and Ford were and are very much alive and safely at home in America.<br />But the frenzied competition online means spurious rumours can become a line or two that resembles fact.<br />But such eagerness to not fall behind isn't limited to the web.<br />Our paper was caught in a similar situation this week concerning a story about a man who was assaulted and dropped off at Royal Inland Hospital here in Kamloops.<br />Details were scarce. All we knew was the man was in serious condition with head injuries, that a truck had been seized from the parking lot of a former strip club and that two people were being questioned by police.<br />Word soon got out that the man may have been shot in the head. Though the police would not comment on the nature of the man;s injuries, our reporter heard from some sources that the man had been shot, so we reported what we called an "apparent shooting."<br />Turns out the man had been beaten about the head, and not shot.<br />Even though we qualified the injury in our story by adding "apparent" to shooting, my headline stated it was a shooting.<br />And that's not good enough.<br />Sometimes in this business, with a deadline staring at you, you take a chance.<br />As the Chicago Tribune realized in 1948, Dewey did not defeat Truman.<br />And, as I found that this week, a beating is not a shooting.<br />You live and learn, and what we learned here is that verification will trump all else.Christopher Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453615577730596107noreply@blogger.com0